Lane vs. Avenue

Difference Between Lane and Avenue

We are all well aware that the terms Lane and Avenue are usually used to signify roads since they relate to them, yet it is not easy to distinguish between a Lane and an Avenue. Several labels are in use with the names of streets like Avenue, Boulevard, Lane, Drive, Road, Path and Streets. There is still a lot of confusion in comprehending why some many terms are being used for roads and how they vary.

A lane is often referred to a contracted road while an avenue is an expansive road frequently lined with sheltered trees on either side. Even though there are very few variations between a lane and an avenue, a lane is typified by a number of houses while an avenue does not exhibits the existence of several houses. The number of houses would be far less on an avenue. Hence, in Britain, an avenue depicts a line up of trees coming with reach of a large country house or a manor.

Avenues are found mostly in large towns and cities whereas there are more lanes in the rural areas and in the countryside. A lane is normally peaceful and silent. In direct contrast, an avenue is noisy, full of commotion and the traffic that goes through it. One of the differences that lie between an avenue and a lane is its width. An avenue is normally four times wide as compared to a lane. The reason of providing a width to an avenue is to accommodate the huge traffic that flows in an avenue and the broad wide avenues provide an easy passage for the traffic to pass through.

During peak hours of the day, when the avenue is flooded with traffic, there are massive congestions and traffic snarls. It is during these times that the heavy traffic is diverted into the lanes to ease off the pressure on the avenues. Thus a lane is frequently used for traffic diversion from the avenues. The diversion of traffic into lanes is done in a manner where only a limited amount of traffic goes into the lanes.

An avenue is first and foremost meant for traffic and its control. It would be an interesting fact that in North America, an avenue is basically a thoroughfare laid out on a grid design running at right angles to the streets in a city. The traffic comes from various directions on to an avenue, whereas a lane does not consist of a traffic coming in from various sides and it usually has traffic from two sides at the maximum.